Sea Change in EU’s Stance on Bitcoin Following Paris Attacks

While the EU recently took steps to treat bitcoin like any other currency, the Paris attacks seem to have prompted a new round of debate on the issue in Brussels.
The policy shift underscores the uphill battle bitcoin faces.
Not only do mainstream consumers not understand the technology, but the potential for using bitcoin for criminal activities has spooked authorities.
Bitcoin was a major payment method in Silk Road—the online marketplace for illicit goods, which the FBI eventually shut down.
But governments clearly are still trying to figure out how to regulate bitcoin, to protect consumers and to ensure that rules to guard against money-laundering are followed.